Simile: The Manner in which Mama Watched Arun Eat
The narrator describes the manner in which Mama watched her son Arun eat: "As for his meals, she watched over him like a dragon" (30). Mama watched her son sharply because he gave her status in society, and because she wanted him to grow up and bring honor to the family. The simile suggests that Mama is powerful, demanding, and vigilant, and that if something goes amiss, she might become enraged.
Simile: Uma's Description of a Baby
Uma describes her brother using the following simile: "He wriggled and writhed under her fingers like a fish trying to escape" (29). Uma is not particularly thrilled with this new sibling, and with the fact that she has to leave school to help raise him. His smallness and strangeness makes her uncomfortable, hence this simile that reveals just how awkward she feels around him, and how unequipped she feels to raise him.
Simile: Parents' Faces
When Uma comes home late at night, the narrator describes her parents' agitation with the use of similes. For Papa, the narrator uses the following simile: "with a face as black as the night" (52). Mama's face "glints like a knife in the dark" (53). The similes effectively reveal how angry and perturbed Mama and Papa are that Uma dared to go out in the evening; they are unaccustomed to her doing what she pleases, and going to a restaurant with Ramu is not considered appropriate.
Metaphor: Aruna
Uma's inability to entice a suitor is a constant disgrace to the family, especially since Aruna is ready for marriage. Desai writes, "Here was Aruna visibly ripening on the branch, asking to be plucked" (85), using a metaphor of a luscious fruit ready to be consumed. Aruna is appealing to many men, and it is galling that she has to wait on the branch for Uma to marry first; by the time this happens, she may be spoiled.
Simile: Seeds
When Uma hears about Mrs. Joshi's daughter having a career and living on her own, the thoughts "were like seeds dropped on the stony, arid land that Uma inhabited" (131). This simile equates the thoughts to seeds that may not seem like much initially, but will fall into the soil and then eventually grow into something. Yet Desai writes that the ground is not rich soil but instead is "stony" and "arid," suggesting that while these thoughts might stick with Uma for a bit, they will not turn into anything.
